


Long Suffering

by MenckensChrestomethy



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Established Relationship, M/M, Marriage, Proposals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 08:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4342133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MenckensChrestomethy/pseuds/MenckensChrestomethy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Wait… Tony, I can explain,” Steve began. He heard Bucky saying something similar to Natasha.<br/>Natasha and Tony looked at each other and shook their heads with a sigh. Tony was hit suddenly by a feeling of vertigo… When did he become the long suffering one in a relationship?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Suffering

“Wait… Tony, I can explain,” Steve began. He heard Bucky saying something similar to Natasha. 

Natasha and Tony looked at each other and shook their heads with a sigh. Tony was hit suddenly by a feeling of vertigo… When did he become the long suffering one in a relationship?

 

Okay, the thing is… The thing is, Tony is forty two years old, he ran a fortune five-hundred company for most of his life… He had been tortured and had seen more death and destruction as a result of his own war-profiteering than he was strictly comfortable with. It calmed in down more than he was willing to admit. In other words, he was getting a little too old for most bullshit. His boyfriend, lover, partner,  and co-leader was twenty seven and markedly very NOT too old for this bullshit. 

Not that Steve was immature, he was frequently level headed, calm and incredibly tactical. His many great qualities notwithstanding, Steve is in his late twenties. It was harder to tell before Barnes came back from the dead. Before, Steve’s half smiles, and dry comments gave the impression of being much older than his years. Everyone knew that Steve could be a goof ball of course, but for the most part he seemed weirdly mature. 

Barnes came back. 

After a few months of holding Steve while he shook from the stress and emotional exhaustion, Tony was starting to lose hope. Steve never did of course, because Steve never gave up on anything ever (half the reason their relationship worked, if Tony were honest). Still it was getting hard for Tony too, seeing someone he loved so much go through so much pain trying desperately to get a link back to his life before. 

Then, things started turning around. Soon, Barnes started talking to Steve… Then they started joking, and before long Bucky was more or less a person again.

Tony had a feeling that Natasha’s sweet, super- assassin love was probably helping. Hearing her croon soft Russian songs to him while he was shaking and holding her really created a different vision of Natasha than he had before. She wasn’t heartless or cruel, and honestly sometimes she was even tender. It made Tony respect her that much more. It was one thing to be strong when you care about no one, Tony knew that from experience. But to care and still be able to do whatever is necessary? That takes grit. 

Tony’s appreciation for Natasha also included the fact that her, Sam, Bucky and Steve were apparently all best friends now. He couldn’t count the number of times he walked back into his apartment only to find Natasha and Steve watching a Disney movie and drinking Long Island Iced Teas. 

Back to Tony’s original point though, which is Steve is fundamentally young. He’s young, reckless and way too prone to stupid decisions when he’s tipsy and someone dares him to do something. He doesn’t calmly drink a scotch or two while the others chat… He doesn’t sip slowly on his Asgardian liquor… He drinks fast, he dances like crazy, he’s in his twenties. Sometimes (he would never say this out loud) it felt a tiny bit like having a Trophy boyfriend. Especially on days when he came back from a long day at the office to find Steve cooking after a workout. 

Of course Steve wasn’t his trophy. Steve was his equal in ways that Tony hadn’t even realized he needed. His perfect balance, his opposite in the best ways. Where Tony was dramatic, flashy, and fast, Steve was steady, accurate and practical. Their work on the field was something of beauty, a mixture of the two of them. Each battle almost became a child, a marriage of their more violent tendencies. Steve was the type of man who could beat anyone at chess, but perhaps didn’t get a perfect score on his math test. Tony was the type of guy who corrected the math teacher’s mistakes but sometimes couldn’t see the entire field. Tony had never met someone who completed him, who made him the best version of himself quite like Steve did. He loved him, every part of him. The poor, sick boy from Brooklyn, the strong Army commander, the soft, cuddly goofball who bought them matching t-shirts and insisted on couples halloween costumes… Tony could go on. 

 

That said… He wasn’t used to being long suffering. 

 

Bucky brought out a side of Steve that Tony didn’t get to see that often. They spoke quickly to each other with a Brooklyn accent so thick, you’d think they just stepped off a production of Newsies. 

“It ain’t that hard, Buck!” Steve said balancing upside down on one finger on top of one of the chairs in the living room. 

“Yeah, ya punk?” Bucky replied poking Steve in the stomach. 

Steve twisted in midair to land on his feet like a cat, and they were off to the races. Grappling, pushing each other and generally rough housing, like they were both eight years old. Natasha who had been sitting next to Tony on her tablet looked up, raised an eyebrow, and looked back down. If Tony saw a quick smile at their antics he didn’t say anything. 

“Ain’t” became a thing that Steve said more and more. Only in conversations with Bucky, granted, but he almost never said it before. Usually the perfect model of elegant speaking and grandiose troop rallying speeches, Steve tended to be more casual now. 

For the most part their nonsense stayed within the tower and no one got hurt too badly (except for the Parkour incident that they have all decided to never speak of). 

 

This time though? This time really took the cake. 

“I swear, Tasha, I swear to you this was not supposed to happen,” Bucky said with huge gray eyes. 

Steve looked at him before walking over to nuzzle his neck like a cat. Tony stayed stock still trying to hold on to his anger. He was justified this time dammit, Steve’s cute tendencies were not going to win this time. 

Its almost like Tony’s life had become and Arrested Development episode. It appeared that, in a series of escalating, drunken dares Steve and Bucky got married. 

“He dared me to propose!” 

“Only because you was being dick. Making fun of me!” 

“I ain’t no jerk.” 

Tony took off his reading glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Alright Orphan Annie, let me see if I can fix this. I’m assuming an annulment will…”

“We didn’t consumate! Of course not, Tony. I love you, I’m so sorry. I love you,” Steve was rambling and looked terrified. 

Personally Tony was a touch amused that Steve would consider this the breaking point when you consider that Bucky and Steve stole a Panda from the zoo the last time he and Natasha let them go out together. He was not making that mistake again, and if the look that Natasha just gave him was any indication, she was fully on board. 

“You two are no longer allowed without adult supervision,” Tony said typing a text to the lawyer he kept on retainer. 

“I’m an…!” Steve began but promptly stopped at Tony’s glare. 

“That goes for you too,” Natasha said pinching Bucky’s ear, “you two are god damn children.” 

“He started it,” Bucky said sulkily. 

Steve kicked his shin, it seems that Steve and Bucky were still a bit drunk. Tony had a moment of cruel glee when he realized that when Steve woke up tomorrow he was going to have a hellish hangover.

The lawyer texted back with an air of an even more long suffering employee who had to deal with too much that it would be taken care of. 

“Go to our room,” Tony said still not looking at Steve. He could feel the full force of his blue eyes pleading. 

“Tony…”

“Now.” 

“… Okay.” 

Steve walked away like a dejected puppy and Tony turned back around to Barnes glaring at him. 

“You be gentle with him now, Stark.”

“Defending your husband?” 

Natasha rolled her eyes and dragged Barnes away by the ear saying, “I’m done with testosterone right now, get the fuck to bed.” 

Before she left she shot him a look too, this one saying _I know you’re mad but be nice._

Honestly he thought they were over reacting, he actually wasn’t even that mad. He just had some work to do, and he wanted Steve to stew in his own guilt for a little while. 

He finished the changes to the Stark Phone he was making, and made sure that Steve and Bucky’s drunken marriage hadn’t been leaked anywhere, before buying off who needed to be bought off to ensure that no one accused Steve of cheating. 

That would break Steve, because there is nothing more important to him than loyalty. It almost gets out of hand how loyal he is. It was only last month that Tony was on a business trip and there was an attack. Sex pollen, how cliche. Luckily or unluckily it only hit Steve because he took the blow meant for the others. This also meant he had much more sex pollen, if he had been dosed with the amount for a regular person nothing would have happened. The sheer amount overwhelmed his metabolism, but there was nothing Tony could do. He was on the other side of the country. 

The stuff made you want to have sex with everything and everyone, whether you loved them or not. But apparently Steve’s loyalty and self restraint was so intense that he sprinted away from the battle field and locked himself in his room until Tony was able to fly back. By the time Tony got there Steve was in actual danger, his heart rate and respiratory rates had been up for so long that on a normal person it would have caused serious damage. 

Tony knew this and begged Steve to just go and fuck someone else, he would rather Steve cheat than Steve be dead… But even in his drugged out, horny beyond belief state he insisted that the only person he wanted was Tony.

And Tony… Fuck all if he didn’t think it was the most wonderful thing he had ever heard. 

The sex they had that night was… Amazing. Steve franticly writhing under him, more out of it and desperate than Tony had ever seen him. But better than the sex was the knowledge, so firm, that Steve would never touch another living soul. He was Tony’s. 

So no, he wasn’t mad because he thought there was a chance that Steve didn’t love him or was cheating on him. To suggest that would be to fundamentally not understand Steve’s character. 

No the reason Tony was mad was because… Because in Tony’s workshop drawer he has a ring. He wants to be married to Steve, he had been waiting for the perfect time and the perfect place but apparently all Tony really needed to do was get him drunk and fly him to Reno. 

Tony put away his Stark Pad and turned off his phone before going upstairs, two hours after he had sent Steve up. He expected Steve to be waiting for him but apparently the alcohol knocked him out and he was curled up on the couch bed he had made for himself. 

Tony felt a tug of fondness, he would never make Steve sleep on the couch, but of course the idiot felt guilty enough to exile himself. 

“Get up, you big lug.”

“Tony?” Steve said, his huge blue eyes blinking up blearily at him. 

“Yes, it is your mistress,” Tony said teasing him gently and kissing Steve’s forehead that wrinkled at Tony’s comment. 

“Darling… I… I swear, I would never… Tony you have to believe me,” Steve’s eyes were starting to fill with panic. 

Tony leaned down and kissed him soundly to stop the sad, sniffling stutters. When he looked back Steve’s eyes seemed calmer so Tony tucked himself into Steve’s huge arms. Steve, it seemed, was too scared to look a gift horse in the mouth and quietly just held him. Tony looked around the room at their domestic bliss. 

The modern art Steve had hung up but Tony hated (that fight lasted three days). 

The strange smell that still lingered from the time Clint told Steve that the best cologne, that Tony would surely love, was Axe body spray. The whole damn floor smelled like junior prom that time. 

The bookshelf that Steve brought, filled with every genre because Steve was old fashioned and didn’t like e-readers. 

They had made a life together, and Tony was happy. He was grateful, he didn’t think- when he was in that cave in Afghanistan- that he would ever deserve to be happy. Now, here he was. 

“Alright Casanova,” Tony said because he’s a jerk, “I was thinking… I want to get away for a few days. Think you can give me a romantic get away?”  
Tony knew in that moment Steve would have agreed to literally anything but still felt pleasure when he frantically nodded. 

“Great, lets get to bed and pack up tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I was thinking we could go to see those Diego Rivera murals you wanted to see.” 

“Our romantic get away is to Detroit…? You hate Detroit.” 

“I don’t hate Detroit. Anyway pack at least enough for… a week and a half. I already cleared it with the rest of the team so don’t worry- we’ll only be contacted if the world is literally about to blow up.” 

Tony did hate Detroit, but that is where the murals were. After seeing how quickly and easily he could lose Steve, whether it to an accidental marriage or an accidental shove into an alternate dimension, Tony knew he needed to (for lack of better words) put a ring on it. 

They had discussed it before, years ago when they first moved in. Steve said it was important to him, but he was in no rush. 

“So you won’t be proposing tomorrow?” Tony said, half joking, half terrified. 

Steve laughed and said, “here, how about this. When you’re ready, you propose. That way there isn’t any pressure. Deal?” 

“Deal.”

Tony was ready now. They got in the private jet the next three hours were filled with re-(re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re) joining the mile high club, and cuddling. They were staying at a beautiful hotel and Tony had of course gotten them the top floor penthouse that overlooked the city. From the bright, flourishing, gentrifying midtown to the East Side where buildings were abandoned and burned. It presented itself as the type of city that was fighting its way through its troubled past- in a weird way it reminded Tony of himself. 

After decades of corruption had ravaged the city, after a Mayor who stole millions from its residents, after companies that were too big to fail have failed… It still stood. Still strides forward. Tony could see why Steve loved Detroit so much. 

They had come on a Thursday, and ate at Slows BBQ- the food was amazing and they managed to get through the epic wait time courtesy of the two hundred dollars Tony slipped the doorman.

The next day Tony was vibrating with excitement. This was the day he had been waiting for, after taking them to a totally luxurious brunch at a well known, historic restaurant known as “The Whitney” they wandered the city a bit. Saw the River Walk, Steve of course making fun of Canada on the other side, and making Tony take a picture of him standing patriotically on the American side of the border. 

Finally it was time, the reason Tony insisted they go on Friday was because on Fridays the Detroit Institute of Art, where the murals are, was open until ten. After about twenty thousand dollars, Tony convinced them to empty out early so it was just the two of them. 

It just so happened that while they were there, Frida Kahlo, Rivera’s wife, was having an exhibition there too. 

“Isn’t it kind of amazing?” Steve said looking at a portrait of the two of them- she looked tiny standing next to Rivera. 

“Hm?” 

“Two people this brilliant getting married?” 

Tony clutched at the ring in his pocket and let out a soft chuckle and nodded and Steve kept talking. 

“Just crazy, they loved each other so much that even after they divorced they got married again. They couldn’t be without each other… Even though they fought all the time, they were meant to be,” Steve said smiling. 

Tony looked up at him and smiled, “good to know that opposites attract is a working model.” 

They finally made their way to the mural room and Tony’s palms were starting to sweat. He had hired violists to stand in each corner of the room and play softly romantic music, there were flutes of Champaign on a table in the center of the room that Tony had arranged for. It looked beautiful. 

The mural was breathtaking and complex,  and incredibly thought provoking. It did have some vaguely communist tones (for his vaguely communist boyfriend). He looked around and appreciated it’s message, the complex nature of technology and it’s double edged sword. How it could be used to make vaccines but also used to make bombs. It made sense to Tony that Steve appreciated it. The mural celebrated everyone’s importance to the factory from the Union leader to the floor manager. Even Edsel Ford had been painted in. Steve turned around to face the wall with a detailed painting of the factory floor when Tony decided it was time and dropped to one knee. 

When Steve turned around he froze, his eyes starting to get bright. 

“Tony…?”

“Steve Rogers… I, I… I love you so much. You are my rudder, steering me where others couldn’t.. Where others have failed. I don’t know if I could do what I do without you, and I know I wouldn’t do it as well… I want to be at your side for the rest of my life. I never want to miss your battle cry. Steve, I’m not half as good at anything as I am when I’m doing it next to you— And that’s the truth. You never just agree with me, you always make me think. You never let me forget my morals… Steve you’re my best friend. Would you do me the honor of being my husband for the rest of my life?” 

Steve picked Tony up off the floor and kissed him hard, mumbling yes against his lips over and over again. 

Tony felt like he could fly, this was going to be amazing. It was of course also going to be a shit show, paparazzi, wedding planning… But Tony couldn’t think of a person he wanted on his side more when facing those things. 

“So,” Steve said conversationally his eyes still bright, “is there a ring or…?” 

Tony beamed and pulled the ring out of his pocket. It was simple, a vibranium and a titanium alloy blended together. That ring could survive nuclear war, and it has the added benefit  of being made of a blend of their two metals. Tony’s suit is made of the alloy and Steve’s vibranium shield. Their perfect mix. It had a small diamond on the side where it would rest next to the other fingers. Inside there was an inscription. 

_“Home”_

Tony had never seen Steve cry, not even when Bucky was at his worst. Nothing shook him, he was as steady as his shield but now his eyes were brimming as he held out his hand for Tony to put the ring on. 

They spent a few more minutes there before going back to the hotel and having lush, just engaged sex. 

“So what are we doing for the rest of the week?” Steve said curled around him like a cat. 

“I was thinking we could go to the Maldives? Its amazingly pretty and I don’t want to deal with the team right now. I’m pretty happy in our freshly fucked, in love state… Clint Barton tends to mess with that state.” 

“Oh! The team,” Steve said scrambling up to grab his phone.

“Seriously, you’re thinking about the team…”

Steve rolled his eyes and sent a picture to the team with the caption “guess who is getting married?!” 

To which Natasha immediately texted back, “again?” 

Steve threw Tony a sheepish look and Tony sighed in exasperation. He supposed he could get used to being Steve’s long suffering husband. 

In fact, he had a feeling he was going to love it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Shocking, I'm sure- but I am actually from the Detroit area... So Please resist the temptation to make fun of it, otherwise I'll have to fight you


End file.
